Timothy Blake
Early Life Timothy Phillip Blake was born on April 7, 1915 to a life of poverty as he was given up for adoption by his unknown biological parents. As an orphan, Tim felt alot of anger and as a vent to lash out aganist his inner demons and took up a position as a boxer and entually bcame a heavyweight contender. Unfournately he became tangled in his sinister managers' plans. As a result, his mentor "Socker" Smith was killed by a boxing glove loaded with a poison needle by Tim's managers Flint and Skinner. The dose was only intended to slow Smith, but the duo misjudged the potency. When Tim was arrested for the crime, Flint and Skinner, afraid he might know what had happened, arranged a hit on the young fighter. Tim Blake survived, but the policemen with him were dead. He became a fugitive and came upon a kid who was robbed of his Green Lantern comic. The kid, describing the mystery-man Green Lantern, inspired Tim to create a costume of a large black cat. He took the name of Catman and vowed to clear his name. Crime Fighting Career He brought Flint and Skinner to justice, as the villains were forced to confess and Blake's name was cleared. Catman continued to fight against crime while also maintaing his career as a Boxer. As Blake won more fights he was able to earn enough money to help supply him with what he needed which inculed guns. As his vigilante alter-ego Catman, he took firearms into his war on crime. He often wore a holster on his utility belt that carried his pistol and had a Tommy gun mounted under the hood of his Automobile. As a result of his violent nature Catman was originally considered a vigilante who seriously injured many of his early opponents, Blake as Catman proved to be effective against the open-acting crime organizations that the ineffective Battery Park Police Department could not. Catman began gathering the grudging admiration of Police Commissioner Jerimah Jordon in his efforts, despite Catman's original heavy-handed methods of crime-combating operations. Catman gathered a wide range of rogue villains, some of which were super normal such as the Jester, the Sportsmaster, Brain Wave (Henrey King) and later The Gambler, Killer Wasp, Huntress (Paula Brooks), and Black Siren who was really a crime fighter pretending to be a Villian and while playing her villiouns role became the most influential of his adversaries. But one of his more effective "normal" villains was an crime boss named Vito Coleone who caused the death of the cricus strong family known as the Mighty Mice, which resulted in Blake taking in Charles E. Cheeks who became Catman's junior partner Mighty Mouse. World War II As a recognized effective crime-fighter, Catman was recruited by the United States federal government as part of a covert strike force against Nazi operations in Europe that ultimately defeated an assassination attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt. At the suggestion of Tom Turbine, he and Catman along with other costumed heroes formed the Justice Society of America. Due to other commitments, Catman declined full membership status, and served only as an honorary member. He did, however, become more active in the wartime super group called the All-Star Squadron parterning again with Tom Turbine otherwise known as Atom Man. Despite being a member of the All Star Squadron, Catman mostly remained focused in protecting Battery Park though he would occasionally take part in several European cases such as with the Unknown Soldier and others. Catman continued to remain active after World War II and the public disbanding of the Justice Society due to the unwillingness of costumed heroes to reveal their secret identities as demanded by the Federal Government investigative committee. 1950s In the early to mid 1950s, he had several notable relationships with women. One included Irina, the mother of Tim's son Jake. After Jake was kidnapped by the Yellow Wasp, they soon parted ways. Paula Brooks followed soon after. In addition to training her in boxing, Blake and Brooks have shared a mutual attraction and had a torrid affair at one time. Queen Hippolyta also had an affair with Tim Blake when he was stranded on the Amazon Island of Themyscira . Blake was visibly shaken up after Hippolyta's banishment of him months afterward. After returning to Battery Park Blake confronted the Gambler in a case that caused Blake to seek out the help of his one time friend/foe Donna Nance, the Black Siren who was incarserated for the murder of her husband. Upon a promise of early parole for her, Donna aided Catman. During the course of this case, the two finally acknowledged their true feelings for each other and Blake revealed his true identity to her telling her that he belives that she is being framed for the crime and promises to do everything he can to get her free. The two then kiss good-bye as she leaves his atuomobile and renters her prison. When Donna was finally released from prison, Blake accepted her. The two wedded soon thereafter. Commissioner Blake 9 months later Donna gave birth to Blake's daughter, Moriah Allison Blake. Deciding not to put his daughter in a similar situation as he underwent in his youth, Blake retired from the Catman role as well as Boxing. But desiring to remain active in some way as a crime fighter, Blake ran for and attained the position of Police Commission of Battery Park upon the retirement of his long time friend Jerhimah Jordon. After a period of inactivity a former partner of the Black Siren's, Silky Cernak, appeared and claimed to have proof that Donna had really committed a murder in the 1950s. Silky threatened to expose this evidence to the police and destroy Donna's life unless she helped him commit one last crime as Black Siren. Fearing the destruction of Blake's position and her daughter's safety, Donna acquiesced, secretly plotting to arrest Silky. Blake resumed the Catman identity to stop her, unaware of Donna's plan. Donna was shot by Silky in her attempts to arrest him. Donna died in Blake's arms, and Blake was publicly revealed to have been the original Catman to his daughter Moriah. Catman Returns Blake decided to permanently retire from the role; However when the Crisis on Earth event in which an all out war was waged that pitted Superhero against Supervillians Blake would be recutied out of retirement by his bestfriend Tom Turbine known across the goble as the Atom Man. He became an insperation to the younger generatation of heros that looked up to Catman and idolized him. Catman also won the allied Superheros many battles against the villanious regiem by his stragtic battle stragy. Blake and many heroes from all over the world engaged in several battles against the Supervillian leader Vandal Savage but was not able to stop him directly despite massive losses of heroes as well as many of the villians. Blake, Tom and the others directly assaulted Savage at the "Dawn of Time" which caused the various cities among Africa to collapse into one nation that was able to withstand Savage's assault, but during the battle, Catman was severely wounded. Blake's legs were shattered by in his battle against an out-of-control Red Tornado and he was told he would never walk again, but he soon discovered he had a god-daughter, Yolanda Montez, who took on the costumed identity of Wildcat. Blake would later lead the JSA giving them operations, Missions, and battle stragy. Blake would also be by the side of Tom when Tom's beloved wife Mary James was killed by Vandal Savage and their son kidnapped. He also helped mentor his stepdaughter Black Canary, teaching her a variety of boxing techniques suited to her build. As Moriah became older Catman's former cime fighting partner and Tim Blake's ward, Mighty Mouse took it upon himself to train her. Cernak would be later stopped by Moriah Blake, who became known as Kitten. Blake is later called out of retirement once again by the ancient god Mercury to help defeat King Kull along with other superheroes, and repairs Blake's shattererd legs. Catman then manages to defeat King Kull. Blake later joined the re-formed JSA as they entered a limbo state to save the world from an oncoming onslaught initiated by an extraterrestrial race. Later he and his fellow teammates were released from this dimension, and regained prominence as the forefathers of the heroic community. After this he retires once more and burned his cape and cowl that night, swearing to never wear it again learning he was dying of cancer from his years of pipe smoking. Death However the elder Blake is eventually coaxed out of retirement for one last mission as Catman when a thief, Bill Jensen, is magically empowered by a sorcerer, Frederick Vaux, and attacks Battery Park. Having failed to arrest Jensen as Commissioner, Blake took a Catman costume from the Smithsonian Museum and decided to attack Jensen directly as Catman. Blake decides to fight to the death against Jensen, who bears a furious grudge against Blake, determined to stopping his threat, even at the cost of his own life. The two fought until Jensen realized that he could not deter Blake in his attempt to stop him. Jensen decided to destroy Catman and himself with a mystical blast. In the aftermath of the battle, no victory was won as the world lost it's hero. As the explosion killed Timothy Blake, he felt a great sense of peace before dying. As Blake laid dead on the ground with his mask destroyed, the public learns that Timothy Blake was Catman's secret identity. Blake's old chum Hourman later removes the memory of the battle from the consciousness of the general public, so as to protect the secret identities of Mighty Mouse and Kitten, which were also thus exposed, and causing everyone to believe instead that Blake died of cancer at home on the same day that Catman died.